[rockadanny]

2013 - 80 mins.

I recorded this a few weeks ago. The other night at my normal bedtime I thought I'd watch the first 10 minutes as a sort of preview. Ugh! I found it so utterly fascinating I could not stop watching.

Tim Jenison (wealthy inventor) becomes obsessed with the work of Dutch master painter Johannes Vermeer. Upon studying Vermeer's paintings, in particular "The Music Lesson", he concludes how Vermeer might have accomplished this masterpiece which captures such enormous detail of light, from bold to subtle, appearing to be nearly photographic in nature. Then goes about recreating the painting using this theoretical method. Mind you, this guy is not a painter, yet he is attempting to recreate a masterpiece from scratch!!

This doc was made by Tim's longtime friend, Penn Jillette (of Penn and Teller fame). An enthralling film which is at times humorous as well.

Recommended to anyone interested in art, Vermeer, science, history, or well done films.

[2bigears]

   thks ,, will watch ,,,,    films that don't suck are good ,,,,

[jonbee]

I agree- it is a fascinating movie, and an interesting proposition. It is also interesting to read about the art community's reaction to this movie outside of the movie itself (in short- they are righteously indignant that such a thing is possible, missing the whole point, IMO).
Well worth watching, and entertaining to boot.

[Rob Babcock]

I saw a trailer last year, kind of dropped off my radar.  I'll have to watch it, thanks for the reminder!

[ACHiPo]

Doesn't look like Netflix has it 

Sounds like a film I'd like.  May have to add to Comcast's coffers.

[Russell Dawkins]

We enjoyed it a few weeks ago - it's on Canadian netflix.
In looking at a 1965 vintage book on Vermeer, I see that the notion he used some sort of device to help him in his work was being discussed even then, since the perspective was so perfect.

[spudco]

Once again, I must say, "Genius by example indicts all else."

Strong recommendation.

[Brad]

Thanks for sharing.

I went to the Vermeer museum when in Delft, the Netherlands.
Fascinating use of light, which has helped me in my photography.

[ltr317]

Thanks for posting this.  I don't use Netflix.  Is this available in DVD?

Vermeer is my favorite painter and this documentary sounds fascinating.  Optics was relatively new during Vermeer's time, and art historians have written that he probably used a camera obscura since he was quite interested in its ability to accurately capture light and perspective.   

[rockadanny]

I saw this on cable TV. I do see you can purchase DVD on Amazon (Bluray, HD, or SD). Bluray version:
http://www.amazon.com/Tims-Vermeer-Blu-ray-Tim-Jenison/dp/B00J5LXN2M/ref=sr_1_2?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1415036156&sr=1-2&keywords=tim%27s+vermeer
(HD and SD are cheaper)

Optics, yes. But there is much more to the story as to how to actually use the optics effectively to paint the picture.

[jonbee]

Doesn't look like Netflix has it 

Sounds like a film I'd like.  May have to add to Comcast's coffers.

Hmmm. I did get it on Netflix a few weeks ago.

[ltr317]

I saw this on cable TV. I do see you can purchase DVD on Amazon (Bluray, HD, or SD). Bluray version:
http://www.amazon.com/Tims-Vermeer-Blu-ray-Tim-Jenison/dp/B00J5LXN2M/ref=sr_1_2?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1415036156&sr=1-2&keywords=tim%27s+vermeer
(HD and SD are cheaper)

Optics, yes. But there is much more to the story as to how to actually use the optics effectively to paint the picture.

That's why I'm interested in seeing the documentary.  Tim Jenison has a lot more tools to work with now than when J. Vermeer did with a primitive forerunner to the camera. 

[ACHiPo]

Watched it this weekend.  Found it on Comcast (originally aired on Encore or Stars) and I don't think I had to pay extra for it even though I'm not an Encore subscriber.  Highly recommended!  Thanks for the tip.  The only downside is that it does a very good job helping the viewer experience exactly how much went into creating the painting (i.e. it does drag in places).

[Rob Babcock]

Tim Jenison has a lot more tools to work with now than when J. Vermeer did with a primitive forerunner to the camera.

True.  But Vermeer knew how to paint!

[JEaton]

True.  But Vermeer knew how to paint!

That's kind of the point of the entire movie. Maybe he did not. They even mention early in the film that records can be found for most artists of the day detailing where and who they studied with, but none can be found for Vermeer.

As for the technology available to Tim Jenison... the bulk of that is used in recreating the room itself. The setup for painting consisted of nothing more than a lens, a convex mirror and a flat mirror. It's ingenious, but it was certainly well within the technological scope of the day and very simple to use.

[ltr317]

True.  But Vermeer knew how to paint!

He's my favorite painter, and the other Dutch painters of the period are my favorite group of painters.   

[jonbee]

To me, even if Vermeer relied very heavily on this device to get his results, it was his insights as an artist that led to the technology that he employed to produced those amazing paintings. The idea that somehow he created this device which allowed him to mechanically create masterpieces misses the creative insights that led him to discover that the device could be used to capture things (the shading of light on the studio wall was a great example) that could not and would not be captured in other ways. Vermeer was a great artist; the innovations he used were the children of his own talent and imagination, not the other way around.
Tim has reverse engineered it, perhaps, but the original "engineer" must be given credit for the accomplishment which other painters never did rediscover, down to the present day. 

[JEaton]

What creative insights would those have been? The appreciation of the effects of light and perspective were certainly nothing new. More likely Vermeer was more influenced by the amazing new technologies of the day and his genius was in inventing a way in which they could be used to essentially paint by number and create his amazing hand-painted photographs. And who knows, maybe it wasn't Vermeer that invented the method.